The Overcity
Take all of the largest cities in the world. Put them together. Then spread them out over infinity. Then make the resulting mess ever-shifting and just possibly slightly sentient. You'll then have a pretty crude approximation of the Overcity. The Overcity is an ever-shifting realm between worlds that exists in many forms. This page is specifically dedicated to the Overcity as it is described in AMGC, and as it appears in IRC roleplay. However, don't be surprised if you find the Overcity just slightly (or very) different. After all, we're not quite certain if there's one infinite Overcity, or infinitely many adjoining Overcities... What is the Overcity? The Overcity is a magical realm that exists in between all worlds. It is said that all worlds connect to the Overcity; though, some are easier to reach than others. Beyond that, nobody is quite sure what it is or how it works. Is it a reflection of the worlds it is connected to? Is it the seed from which all worlds spring? We'll likely never know. The Overcity's appearance can vary greatly, but it most commonly appears as an infinite, uninterrupted, sprawling city. Most of the time this city is eerily empty - power flows, trains run, and restaurants have food laid out for customers, but nobody is there, as if the entire population suddenly disappeared just a second ago. Other places appear to be populated by shades or ghosts. Very, very rarely, you'll come across completely normal people. The most common inhabitants, though, are monsters, most of which aren't picky about what they eat. It is also a realm forever in flux. The magic that holds together the Overcity is constantly shifting and changing, causing fluctuations in time and space. An area full of brand-new apartment complexes one day might contain a run-down factory full of monsters the next, and then be full of terraced houses the day after. The sheer chaos means that most of the Overcity is very dangerous to live in. Thankfully, it is possible to "stabilize" the magic in an area, though it takes a lot of power to do so. These areas are called "safe zones", and are usually located around major nexus portals or entities of great magical influence. Theoretically, because of the time- and space-shifting properties of the Overcity, it's possible to travel through the Overcity to any time or place you desire. Many "guides" exist that can use the Overcity to cover great distances in relatively little time. For most people, though, trying to navigate between safe zones is suicide. You're much more likely to wander for days only to find yourself right back where you started, a hundred years in the future. Even with a guide, much of the area between safe zones is inhabited by monsters. Portals Generally, a portal is any point where the fabric of space and time breaks and causes the multiverse to connect back to itself in an unexpected way. They can be found in any realm, but they're particularly common in the Overcity because of the way the city's magic bends time and space...and because, in an infinite and ever-changing realm, they're often the only practical way to get around. There are a few common types that girls in the Overcity will encounter. Nexus Portals Nexus portals are stable, two-way portals that may cross the boundaries between worlds, and that connect many different places to one common point. The common point is called the nexus, hence the name; though, it should be noted that the nexus doesn't have to exist anywhere in common time and space, and in fact may not even exist at all. They're the easiest of all portals to enter, and often take the form of large ornate doors and entryways. Most of the Overcity nexus portals are connected to a common nexus. The nexus itself is somewhere outside time and space; in order to travel between portals, a girl only has to think of the portal she wants to exit at. You can't travel to a nexus portal that you aren't already aware of, however. As noted, nexus portals are very stable, and tend to stabilize the spacetime around them, creating safe zones; a good example is the portal outside of the Wand and Circlet tavern. It's also easier to create a new nexus portal in an already-stabilized area. Because they provide a common point of reference, they also synchronize the flow of time between connected areas. Transit Portals Transit portals specifically refer to one-to-one two-way portals that connect different areas of the Overcity. They aren't quite as useful as nexus portals, and don't provide as powerful of a stabilizing effect, but they're still a reliable way to get around...provided you know where they are, anyway. They're also much easier to create, and many organizations create transit portals for convenience. Prisma Lantern, for instance, maintains several sets of transit portals that link to areas of interest in the city. These often take the form of swirling energy vortices in seemingly-normal doorways or gaps between buildings. Rogue Portals Rogue portals aren't really portals, but ugly rips in the fabric of the multiverse. They may be one-way or two-way, and it's often impossible to tell where or when you'll come out on the other side. They are inherently unstable, and unless frequently used they'll eventually fizzle out over time. Two-way portals tend to at least be stable in time and space, but one-way portals may appear wherever, whenever, and sometimes in multiple places at once. This kind of portal is particularly common in the Overcity, due to shifting of the massive flows of magical energy (commonly called ley lines) that run through certain areas of the city. They almost always connect to one of the mortal realms somehow, and for whatever reason are often camouflaged - usually as natural portals such as doorways, windows, or alleyways. Often, they're also convoluted to use - for example, going down a specific alleyway at a specific time of day, from the east. Many people wander into the Overcity this way by accident. Not all of them make it back.